The Montana Group

Political Consulting, Public Relations & Government Affairs

The Montana Group

Consulting in Montana politics, government affairs, and public relations. Whether it's organizing a grassroots advocacy campaign, lobbying in the Montana statehouse, or developing a comprehensive communications strategy, our unrivaled team of experts in Montana politics and policy has the tools to get the job done.

Let us help you succeed in Big Sky Country.

OUR WORK

Grassroots Advocacy

A grassroots movement usually starts with just a handful of committed activists passionate about an issue. From there it can snowball into a full-fledged advocacy organization with enough critical mass to become a sustained effort. But what determines whether an organization flourishes or fails is how it establishes its foundation.

Utilizing our expertise in organizational management, public relations, and issue advocacy, the Montana Group has helped to create dozens of advocacy organizations. Some have been short term to achieve a policy objective. Others have evolved over a number of years in order to shape public opinion in a sustained manner.

Examples of our Grassroots Work:

Count on Coal Montana: a coalition of industry, business, and labor voices with the objective of increasing coal production in Montana. We’ve managed this coalition for several years, including robust earned and social media efforts, organization of several major events, and multiple advertising campaigns around specific issues.

United Property Owners of Montana: a coalition made up of landowner and agriculture interests dedicated to protecting property rights. We were with UPOM from the start over ten years ago, helping a core group of landowners form their organization and recruit members. Today, we’ve helped UPOM grow into one of the most respected and effective agriculture and land use groups in Montana. Through it all, we’ve managed all aspects of the organization, including handling their legislative lobbying, earned media, web presence, fundraising, and membership management.

Political & Initiative Campaign Management

With large geographic distances and an even larger diversity of culture, the political landscape in Montana can be difficult to navigate, let alone organize a statewide campaign.

We have a tremendous amount of campaign management experience, both for political candidates and initiative campaigns. Our partners Chuck Denowh and Shelby DeMars have served in a campaign roles ranging from communications to finance to full-scale management.

We are the premier ballot initiative management consultants in Montana. We’ve managed three successful initiative campaigns, including the two most-recent successful Constitutional amendments passed in Montana: CI-116 in 2016 and CI-105 in 2010.

Examples of our Campaign Work:

Ryan Zinke for Congress: Shelby DeMars served as Congressman Zinke’s communications director in his first campaign in 2014. She has remained a close advisor to the Zinke team on energy and natural resource issues.

Steve Daines for U.S. Senate: Chuck Denowh served as the state finance director for Senator Daines’s campaign in 2014, and remains an important member of the finance team.

CI-105: A Constitutional amendment to prohibit real estate transfer taxes in Montana. Chuck Denowh was the campaign manager for this campaign and served as the primary on-the-record spokesperson. He managed all aspects of the campaign, from the initial signature gathering to paid media and voter outreach. CI-105 passed with 73% of the vote.

CI-116: A Constitutional amendment to establish a crime victims’ bill of rights in Montana. Chuck Denowh managed all aspects of this campaign as well and organized a large and active base of victim advocates. CI-116 passed with 66% of the vote.

Lobbying & Government Affairs

The Montana Group features the largest and most experienced lobbying team in Montana, with over fifty years combined statehouse experience. Our expertise extends across multiple issue areas, including: technology, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications, agriculture, and land use.

Examples of our Lobbying Clients:

The National Football League

Uber Technologies

Draftkings, Inc.

Fanduel, Inc.

TracFone Wireless

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Montana

PhARMA

Signal Peak Energy

Abbott Labs

WE DO IT ALL

With over 50 years of political, policy, and management experience, the Montana Group is ready to help you with your challenges in Montana. A hallmark of our success has always been a team approach that allows us to offer our clients a wide-rage of capabilities custom-tailored to their needs. Here's what we can help you with.

No one matches our campaign management experience. We can develop your campaign plan from scratch and run it start to finish.

ASSOCATION MANAGEMENT

Member communications & recruitment, public relations, and event management.

GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION

Take advantage of the grassroots army we work with on a regular basis. Generate earned media, grassroots lobbying contacts, and reach local influentials.

WEB DEVELOPMENT & SOCIAL MEDIA

We can help establish or build your web presence through state-of-the-art web platforms.

THE MONTANA GROUP TEAM

CHUCK DENOWH

Chuck's wide range of political and policy experience are one of the greatest assets of the Montana Group. He specializes in grassroots organization, public relations, fundraising, and campaign management. Chuck served as the Chief Policy Advisor to the Republican caucus in the Montana House of Representatives before serving four years as the Executive Director of the Montana Republican Party. During his tenure at the Montana GOP, Chuck oversaw a modernization of party programs, grew the party from three employees to twenty, and tripled fundraising.

Chuck joined the Montana Group in 2006. He has managed dozens advocacy campaigns for corporate and non-profit organizations, as well as working on some of biggest political campaigns in the state. He's served as the campaign manager for Attorney General Tim Fox, state finance director for United States Senator Steve Daines and managed three successful ballot initiatives, including the last two successful Constitutional amendments enacted in Montana. Most recently he managed the CI-116 constitutional amendment, which was enacted with 65 percent of the vote.

Chuck grew up in Sidney; he earned a BA in political science and an MPA, both from the University of Montana, and an MS in Applied Economics from the University of North Dakota.

DENNIS IVERSON

Dennis Iverson’s background in business and government has developed his natural talent for communication, problem solving, and bringing diverse points of view to consensus. Dennis’s extensive lobbying experience covers the last fifteen legislative sessions. Dennis was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 1979. Over five terms he served on the Appropriations and Taxation Committees, chaired the House Natural Resources Committee, and was elected Speaker Pro Tempore by his colleagues.

Dennis served as an advisor to Governor Stan Stephens and was appointed by Stephens as Director of the Montana Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, a large, complex agency of diverse programs, controversial issues, and over 400 employees. Dennis serves on the board of directors of the Western Natural Gas Company and has served on the board of the Northern Montana Oil and Gas Association, as the President of the Montana Association of Realtors and as President of the University of Montana Alumni Association.

SHELBY DEMARS

Shelby has been as integral part of the Montana Group since 2009. Her expertise centers on corporate and campaign communications, public relations, government affairs, and grassroots advocacy.

Shelby, a Montana native, has served in numerous roles for advocacy efforts and has consulted for dozens of local and statewide political candidates in Montana. Most recently she managed the campaign to re-elect Attorney General Tim Fox. She also served as the Communications Director for the 2014 campaign of Congressman Ryan Zinke, now Secretary of the Interior.

Shelby attended Carroll College in Helena. Her education is in Political Science, Business Administration, and Economics.

The Montana Group World Headquarters1820 N Last Chance GulchHelena, MT 59601